d last summer by Major League Baseball as pa

TORONTO -- There were several similarities between football and bobsled that drew former CFL running back Jesse Lumsden to the ice from the gridiron. For one, he still gets to crank the intensity to the max. "I push pretty angry. I ran pretty angry too though, but I have fun doing it," Lumsden said. "Its kind of an oxymoron but I dont know, it makes sense to me. Im grinding teeth and snorting and foaming at the mouth when Im pushing. "Like when I had the opportunity to hit somebody in front of me, I loved it. I loved that feeling of catching somebody on their heels and just going straight through them." Lumsden spent parts of six seasons in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2011 after a few injury-plagued campaigns. His transition to the winter sports scene has been a smooth one. The six-foot-two, 223-pound brakeman from Burlington, Ont., first gave bobsled a try in 2009. He had aspirations of becoming a pilot but coaches told him his skills were best suited for the back of the sled. He took the news in stride and soon became one of the sports elite pushers. Lumsden qualified for the 2010 Olympic team in the two-man and four-man sleds, finishing fifth in both events. The 31-year-old Calgary resident has blossomed over the last few seasons, winning silver at the world championship last year and taking the World Cup title last season with pilot Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask. The strong Canadian team tinkered with its lineup this season, with Lumsden now in the two-man sled with Calgarys Chris Spring. They won bronze at the season opener last month in Calgary and nearly reached the podium in the four-man event as well with a fourth-place result. With the season approaching the halfway point, Lumsden and Spring are third overall in the standings. "Were on the right path of where we need to be going," Lumsden said Thursday at a promotional event at a downtown mall. "Obviously the end of the road is Sochi and things are progressing nicely." The camaraderie that Lumsden experienced during his football days is much the same on the bobsled team. There is a great chemistry on the squad and a real sense of unity. Lumsden and Spring have been teaming with Ottawas Cody Sorensen and Saskatoons Ben Coakwell in the four-man sled. The other two-man sleds include Rush with Calgarys Lascelles Brown and the duo of Edmontons Bryan Barnett and Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C. The womens team is led by the powerhouse pairing of reigning Olympic champions Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., and Kaillie Humphries of Calgary, who won gold at the season opener. Spring was born in Australia and became a Canadian citizen earlier this year. The third-place result at Canada Olympic Park was significant because it was his first World Cup medal with Lumsden. "Hes athletic so he contributes on the push as well," Lumsden said of his teammate. "He just has a presence about him thats very positive. Its confidence. Its not a cockiness but its a solid confidence that makes you feel good." Lumsden spent seven hours a day training in the off-season and has the chiselled physique to prove it. He generates his explosiveness from a rock-solid lower body and blasts out of the start area with a vengeance. He showed off that power last month in Calgary when he won the WinSport World Push Challenge to kick off the new season. Lumsden was formally named to the Olympic team this week. He learned a lot from the Vancouver experience but didnt feel a lot of pressure because he was so green. Things will be different when the Sochi Games begin Feb. 7. Lumsden is confident that hell be ready. "Theres more on the line this time around because I have invested my four years into it," he said. "This is my passion. This is what I love to do." New Balance Clearance Sale . - Buffalo Bills running back C. Cheap New Balance .com) - The Oakland Athletics needed to rely on a lot of young pitchers to win an American League West title this season. http://www.cheapnewbalance.net/ .J. - Henrik Lundqvist has done more than set a couple of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. New Balance Outlet Online . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Cheap New Balance Shoes Online . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans.TAMPA, Fla. -- Brett Connolly had two goals and Steven Stamkos also scored to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night. The Lightning jumped out to a fast start, with Connolly and Ondrej Palat scoring in the first 6:51 of the game. Victor Hedman assisted on each goal for Connolly, who weaved through two defenders and pushed a wrist shot past goaltender Carter Hutton for his second score at 18:41 of the middle period. Stamkos first goal of the preseason lifted Tampa Bay to a 3-0 lead early in the second.dddddddddddd. Matt Cullen scored the Predators only goal in the third period against backup goaltender Cedric Desjardins. Riku Helenius made his first start in goal for the Lightning and stopped all 15 shots he faced in a little more than 30 minutes of ice time. Hutton gave up four goals on 17 shots in 40 minutes before being replaced by Marek Mazanec. ' ' '